Dear Janes Seafood Sails Into Marina Del Rey; The Butchers Daughter Adds a Sunny Melrose

 Posted on August 19, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  801 words  |  Aldo Pusey


For an ocean-hugging city like Los Angeles, there are surprisingly few fun, relaxed seafood-focused restaurants. The recent Marina del Rey opening of Dear Jane’s, the pescatarian counterpart of industry favorite Dear John’s in Culver City, has vastly improved the situation. From Jamie Lee Curtis’ voice on the answering machine to regulars like Jodie Foster and Sharon Stone, it’s clear this spot from chefs Josiah Citrin and Hans Röckenwagner, along with Patti Röckenwagner, former marketing exec at STX and Paramount, will draw the same in-crowd as its beefier brother. “It has a sweeping view of the marina, and it’s a midcentury original building from the 1960s,” says Patti Röckenwagner of the old Chart House space, noting that the area has changed quite a bit in recent years. “It’s not your father’s Marina anymore.”

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Dear Jane’s menu is stocked with old-school options and just enough updates to keep things interesting. There’s the impressive JLC’s seafood tower (a nod to the “Halloween” actor, who’s a friend), tableside shrimp Louie, trout amandine, linguine and clams, surf and turf, cioppino and whole Maine lobster. “It’s kind of the best version of that thing you’ve had in a really beautiful setting,” Patti Röckenwagner explains. One of her favorites is the homemade fish sticks with caviar and seven-layer dip, which she says are “wildly popular.”
13950 Panay Way, Marina del Rey

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The Butchers Daughter: And Then There Were Five

The Butcher’s Daughter, the trendy plant-based all-day restaurant that started in New York and then jumped into Venice, has opened a fifth location in West Hollywood. With a menu that doesn’t rely on fake meats and lets the produce shine — surprisingly rare in vegetarian restaurants — the airy indoor-
outdoor spot calls itself “a vegetable slaughterhouse.” Vividly hued blue butterfly risotto with pea flowers, cauliflower strip steak and corn ribs are among the imaginative dishes on the menu, which also includes pizza, pasta, cocktails and many vegan and gluten-free selections.
8755 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles

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